(posted from Washington, D.C., 11:34 a.m. eastern time)
UPDATE: Robert Redford's speech at TBA.
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| Okay, so better late than never. I took this earlier, but had to come back to my hotel to load it. Frankly, the Hilton's connection for bloggers row sucks. Oh, and by the way, as to Redford's first line; everyone needed a brush, as it was raining cats and canaries this morning! “Sorry 'bout that,” Redford said to me when our bags got tangled. All I could do was laugh. |
“Anybody have a brush?”
That's the first thing I heard when Redford walked into the room. It was a
little after 10:00 a.m. when he and Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance
showed up. It was supposed to start at 9:30 a.m., but these types of
things rarely if ever come off as planned.
I've been trying to blog it since then, but on bloggers row there's a lot of
interruptions and distractions, because people actually are interested in what
we do.
The Fox “News” crowd just hate when big celebs lend their name, reputation
and passion to issues that matter. But when they do, especially when you're
Robert Redford, it can make all the difference. After all, it's not like they
need this aggravation, now is it?
They wanted all the bloggers up front during the Redford meeting, especially
those with computers, because this meeting was schedule for us. How refreshing
is that? Redford continued the welcome, because it was very obvious – he made
a point of saying it – that he's a big fan of the blogs.
When Redford started off he didn't go to the podium. He and Jerome sat side
by side, with Redford making a very brief opening statement. I live blogged
it for content, just now getting it online, but this is how it went down. I
don't use quotes, but Redford's statements are close to verbatim, the content
and tone exact.
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| Robert Redford and Jerome Ringo, president of the Apollo Alliance. (Taken during Bloggers Meeting) |
It's like the old west, the blogs. Taking something and running
with it, said Robert Redford. Out of the gate he made it clear
that he feels the blogs have a big part to play in getting the message on the
environment out.
When I met him after the session, he looked in my eyes and shook my hand, strongly
and very enthusiastically. In fact, he made an effort to turn and talk with
me, however briefly. (Just to add, I'm drawing this picture, not because I saw into his soul, but because his sincerity to connect with me, one blogger, was real. It went to the whole reason he asked for the meeting with us.) I thanked him for what he was intending to manifest through
his involvement in the Apollo Alliance, and he said, “No, thank
you.” The picture we took together was a generous move on his part, because
he wasn't taking pictures with people. (I keep getting disconnected, so I'll upload the shots of Redford when I can.) As it was taken our bags got tangled
and he apologized, which caught him talking and me smiling. We untangled and
his handler moved him on. Tight schedule doesn't begin to cover it.
In case you don't know what the Apollo Alliance is all about, this should
give you a clue.
Why
Do We Call It The Apollo Alliance?“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,
not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will
serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because
that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling
to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”–President John F. Kennedy
Obviously, with all the work I've done on John F. Kennedy, this organization
has simpatico sensibilities with what I'm doing.
Talking about the Apollo Alliance, Redford was passionate, but soft spoken,
mentioning their 10-point
solution. An announcement is coming later today on action, evidently. After
opening statements, Redford and Ringo took questions.
Regarding the environment and how it was ignored in the 2004 elections:
“It was criminal what happened in the last election … It was
pretty rough to sit there in the last election, seeing the issue ignored or
shunned.” – Robert Redford
Continuing on, he was asked a question about the media and their coverage on
the environment during 2006. The coverage was “down low”
… “I'm hopeful,” he said about the next elections going forward.
In one comment that will delight many, Redford said bloggers play a part that
the “mainstream media” does not. That's for sure. It's obvious he
thought traditional media just doesn't get it.
There was no doubt that Redford believes that bloggers can, should and must
play a critical part on the environmental front going global.
Jerome Ringo also announced that the Apollo Alliance met regarding independence
meeting with Senators Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid, as well as Pennsylvania
Governor Ed Rendell.
Needless to say, former Vice President Al Gore was mentioned in a big way,
as Redford talked about him addressing the issue and the solutions, all revolving
around his new movie.
Redford had “some involvement” in Gore's movie, which
he believes will have a “positive effect.” Then Redford
launched into a brief summation of his involvement in the issue way back in
the late 1980s global warming conference with the Soviets. The “solutions
were the same back then. No vehicle back then to get the language out,”
said Redford.
“As long as the public can see it's bad… here 's why it's
bad,” and “here's what you can do.” You need
to go the part of the solutions, because the evidence is “in their face.”
“Solutions,” is where Redford wants to focus, not just scaring the
public to death. The “Al Gore film has ended the debate,” according
to Apollo Alliance president with Redford. Al Gore's film was an end and a
beginning. It addresses the solutions. We must alternatives to fossil fuel
and getting oil from foreign countries. – Robert Redford @ Special Bloggers Meeting
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Wind power, solar power and other energy solutions are obviously critical
Ironically, Redford worked in the fields for Standard Oil in El Segundo, California
many years ago, as did Jerome Ringo, who is from Louisiana. That's their mutual
connection to the passion to become energy independent. So, obviously when asked
about Katrina, Ringo said the bottom line was “accountability.”
Of course, what would all this be without mention of impeachment? It was broached
over Katrina.
That's when Robert Redford became very animated and leaned out to see who exactly
answered the question. Then he smiled broadly and let go with a chuckle.
Check out the Apollo Alliance. We need to back this project.
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